Can journalists be activists? This is perhaps the most troubling question every journalist has to confront while dealing with issues of public interest. Journalism is about assembling and verifying facts, and conveying fair and accurate accounts. But it is also about speaking for the people who do not have a voice. And many of our predecessors, in both pre- and post-independence Bangladesh, came to journalism to do just that. It was something like a mission of their life. Their publications too had socio-political agenda. Sadly, such activism has increasingly become partisan and now it's driven mostly by narrow self-interests rather than the greater good. Syed Abul Maksud, who died on February 23, 2021, was an exception—a true activist-journalist. Perhaps, with his demise we may see an end of activist journalism. His distinct attire, with two pieces of unstitched white cloth, too was a symbol of his activism which he carried out both through his pen and by taking to the streets. A ...